When shots rang out at the Galleria Mall in Birmingham, Alabama, two things happened at pretty much the same time. Two police officers went toward the sound of gunfire, and one Good Samaritan drew his legally carried handgun and went toward the sound of gunfire to help. That was the last thing the Good Samaritan, EJ Bradford, did.
On Thanksgiving night in 2018, David Alexander—a policeman with the City of Hoover—was on foot patrol with his partner in the Galleria Mall in Birmingham, Alabama. During a suspected active shooting situation, and within seconds after gunshots had been fired in the Mall, Officer Alexander saw Emantic “E.J.” Fitzgerald Bradford moving towards two men (who appeared to be shooting victims) with a gun in his hand and at his side. Without issuing a verbal warning, Officer Alexander shot and killed Mr. Bradford when he was about ten feet away from the two men. It turns out that Mr. Bradford was legally authorized to carry his gun pursuant to a permit issued under Alabama law and was going towards the sound of the shots in an attempt to provide assistance.
As representative of her deceased son, April Pipkins brought suit under § 1983, contending that Officer Alexander’s failure to issue a warning before firing, thereby providing Bradford with the opportunity to drop his lawfully-carried weapon, violated his Fourth Amendment rights. But the outcome was clear in the opening quote of Eleventh Circuit Judge Adalberto Jordan’s opinion.
“In the mind of the police officer, the lawfully-carried gun can kill just as easily as the illegal one; it is never more than a moment away from doing so.” Brandon de Pozo & Barry Friedman, Policing in the Age of the Gun, 98 N.Y.U. L. Rev...
